A group of Philadelphia men decided to get fit and started a ballclub in 1833. Here’s how they paved the way for the Phillies.
Townball became Base Ball, then Baseball. It all goes back to North Philadelphia.
During the early 19th century, gentleman did not play games, at least not outdoors.
Outdoor frolicking was for children.
But the yellow fever epidemic of 1822 and the cholera epidemic a decade later started Philly’s men of means on a health kick. It became cool for grown men to play outside, breathe fresh air, stretch limbs, and build their muscles.
In 1833, a few of them formed a social club to play a fairly new outdoor game called Townball in which a player goes to bat at “home,” and gets three tries to hit a ball. If he manages to hit it, he runs a course, stopping at three bases along the way before returning home, safely.
Every time a player returned home, his team scored a point.
Sounds familiar? John Thorn, the official historian for MLB Baseball agrees.
Townball, Thorn said, caught on because it was a different kind of sport. “It wasn’t not gymnastic. It wasn’t pugilistic. It wasn’t mere combat...It was more than exercise. It was camaraderie. That was nice.”
The recreational athletes referred to themselves as the Olympic Ball Club and are considered America’s first baseball team. As MLB All-Star Week 2026 gets underway in Philly this weekend at Citizens Bank Park, that first ballclub will be feted at the park for the Philadelphia Historic District’s 28th firstival.
Firstivals are weekly day parties honoring events that happened in Philadelphia before anywhere else in the world, part of the city’s yearlong celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
The Olympic Ball Club played early games in Camden. In those days the club split themselves into two teams and played against each other. There was no foul territory, the ball was smaller, yet softer. And sometimes they even swung the bat with one arm.
“Runners would be declared out if the ball was thrown at them between the bases,” Thorn said. In other words, you didn’t have to tag people out.
In the 1860s, the Olympic Ball Club adopted the same rules as the New York Knickerbockers. In the same decade, they also moved the club’s home to North Philadelphia, a field between Master and 27th Streets. Back then, this area was known as Camac’s Woods, an estate and public park owned by 19th century Philadelphia gentleman Turner Camac.
The first professional base ball team — it was originally spelled with two words — the Cincinnati Red Stockings, were formed in 1869. Their salaries were paid by an organization of local businessmen.
By 1876 — the year the National League was founded — Philadelphia had a second base ball team, the Athletics. On April 22 of that year, the Athletics played the Boston Red Caps in America’s first professional league baseball game. That game was played in North Philadelphia at 25th and Jefferson, and Boston beat Philadelphia 6 to 5.
In the early 20th century, baseball started to be spelled as one word, Thorn said. And its play mirrors that of today. The Philadelphia Phillies, originally called the Quakers, were founded in 1883, making them the oldest, one name, one-city, franchise of professional sports.
Why are there so many baseball firsts in Philadelphia?
“Philadelphia was the home to organization and structure,” Thorn said. “This was the seat of government, the place where American politics and innovation started. Philadelphia is a town of invention.”
This week’s Firstival is Saturday, June 11, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at Citizens Bank Park, 1 Citizens Bank Way, Philadelphia, PA
The Inquirer is highlighting a “first” from the Philadelphia Historic District’s 52 Weeks of Firsts program each week. A “52 Weeks of Firsts” podcast, produced by All That’s Good Productions, drops every Tuesday.
